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U.S. NEWS Saturday 1 december 2018

Fire-scarred California areas

escape large-scale rain damage

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A downpour Thursday that warnings. Light showers are
major storm brought local- dumped 1½ inches (3.8 forecast for later Friday in
ized mudslides and street centimeters) of rain in an the Sierra Nevada, where
flooding to California and hour, the National Weather snow is expected in lower
some people had to be Service said. elevations, according to
rescued from stranded ve- The heavy rain inundated the weather service, which
hicles, but fire-scarred ar- roads, trapping people in issued a winter storm warn-
eas escaped large-scale about 100 vehicles and ing for the Sierra that will
damage. forcing some mandatory go into effect Friday night
Water from flash floods re- evacuations in Chico, a through Saturday morning. A mudslide trapped several vehicles along Valley of the Falls
ceded in Northern Califor- city of 90,000 where many All evacuation orders were Drive in Forest Falls in San Bernardino County, Calif., on Thurs-
nia and crews on Friday of the fire evacuees from lifted for residents near a day, Nov. 29, 2018.
cleared debris from roads, Paradise are staying. Southern California wildfire Associated Press
culverts and levees that All roads that were closed burn scar.
flooded in Chico, said Butte during the emergency Authorities in Orange and earlier this year. vice says Southern Califor-
County spokeswoman Kelly were opened by Friday, Riverside counties removed Elsewhere in the region, the nia has a chance of rain
Hubbard. and the Butte County Sher- the restrictions Friday morn- city of Malibu reports that Saturday from a weaker
Debris flowed downhill from iff's Office said mandatory ing as fair weather returned all but one of the streets system, and another storm
Paradise, a town destroyed evacuations for homes in following a storm that hit by a mudslide Thursday is forecast to affect the
by a wildfire three weeks low-lying areas had been brought heavy rains to a have been reopened. region Wednesday and
ago, to Chico during a reduced to evacuation mountainous area burned The National Weather Ser- Thursday.q

Top lieutenant to 'El Chapo' sentenced to life in prison

By MATTHEW BARAKAT as Guzman is facing his world," prosecutors wrote. Licenciado," which is a title in the cartel.
Associated Press own trial in New York. "It would be hard to imag- for college graduates — at Defense attorneys did not
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — It is unclear whether Lopez, ine a more egregious drug an apartment in Mexico return calls and emails
A top lieutenant to drug Guzman's right-hand man, offense." City last year. Authorities seeking comment.
kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" would be called to testify at Mexican authorities arrest- say that arrest led to the Lopez was also ordered to
Guzman was sentenced in Guzman's trial. The publicly ed Lopez — known as "El collapse of his faction with- forfeit $25 million.q
a Virginia courtroom Friday available court documents
to life in prison. from the plea agreement
Damaso Lopez, a leader in do not include a require-
Mexico's Sinaloa drug car- ment for cooperation, as
tel, pleaded guilty in Sep- they usually would. But sev-
tember in an Alexandria eral documents in the case
federal court to drug traf- remain under seal.
ficking charges after be- Also, while Lopez has been
ing extradited from Mexico sentenced to life, it is a rela-
earlier this year. tively common practice at
The life sentence was ex- the federal courthouse in
pected after both sides Alexandria for prosecutors
agreed to a life term as to file a post-sentence mo-
part of a plea bargain. tion seeking reduction of a
In court papers, Lopez ad- sentence for defendants
mitted he was a senior who provide substantial co-
leader in the Sinaloa cartel operation on other cases.
and controlled a faction In court papers, prosecu-
with hundreds of men. He tors said the cartel gener-
admitted using "sicarios," ated billions of dollars in il-
or hitmen, to conduct mur- legal profits.
ders to further the cartel's "Simply put, the defendant
interest and move tons of had a leadership role in the
cocaine and other drugs Sinaloa Cartel, the largest
throughout the Americas. and most violent drug traf-
Lopez's sentencing comes ficking organization in the